On October 27, held a fundraiser for a long-time friend and sister of employee Mary Lou Centeri-Pluchino. Mary Lou's sister Eva is currently battling breast cancer.
Owners Stacey and Tracy were glad to offer up their space for such a worthy cause. Eva, who is 49 and a mother of two, was diagnosed with breast cancer in August 2010. The Lia Sophia jewelry party was organized to help offset her ongoing medical expenses.
This is a true Sayville story; not only is the salon on Railroad Avenue, but it is owned by Stacey who grew up in Sayville and has known Mary Lou since they were 18 years old. All of the central figures hail from Sayville. Leigh-Ann (Ramirez) Carney was the Lia Sophia representative who ran the event.
Leigh-Ann was also raised in Sayville and spent a lot of time in Eva and Mary Lou’s house where mom, also named Mary Lou, still resides. “We all went to Sayville High School. I do a lot of these kinds of fundraisers. I’m glad that 50 percent of all profits can go to a worthy cause. I like to be able to do this," Leigh-Ann said.
Notices went out by invitation, Facebook, flyers and word-of-mouth. Attendees were encouraged to wear pink and be creative about it. There were pink cupcakes, pink lemonade and other delicious treats. Women were given raffle tickets for attending, making purchases and wearing pink. At the end of the evening, a pink necklace was the prize for lucky winner Brianna Katz.
In addition to the party at the salon, there was a basket of Lia Sophia products being raffled off which had been set up in the salon for several weeks. Raffle tickets sold for $5 each, yielding $190 for the fundraiser. The basket was won by Mary Tuscano.
Though the event only lasted for three hours at the salon, it is still possible to purchase Lia Sophia products and have the proceeds benefit Eva. Log on to www.liasophia/leighann.com and reference Eva or the Salon 36 Fundraiser.
There are also Team Eva shirts still available for purchase at the salon for $20 with all proceeds going to Eva Centeri. All told, the raffle, jewelry party and Team Eva shirts has yielded nearly $3,000 for Eva’s medical bills.
In addition to the event held at Salon 36, there was also a group under “Team Eva” at this year’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk at Jones Beach. Those pledges went to the American Cancer Society for research.
